Patient visualization system

ABSTRACT

A patient visualization system having a processor may be communicatively coupled to a pressure sensor device to periodically receive pressure sensor data. The processor may determine a body position according to the pressure sensor data, and associate sensor data to body areas of the subject according to the body position. The associated sensor data may include sensor data indicative of an absence of pressure sensor data associated with one or more of the number of body areas. The processor may track pressure experienced by the body areas of the subject over a period of time to determine a pressure to the body areas over the period of time.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to a patient visualizationsystem in connection with pressure injuries.

BACKGROUND

Pressure injuries, otherwise known as decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcersor bedsores, are lesions developed when a localized area of soft tissueof a subject is compressed between a bony prominence and an externalsurface for a prolonged period of time. Pressure injuries could appearin various areas of the body, such as elbows and knees. Development ofpressure injuries based on a combination of factors, such as, unrelievedpressure, friction, shearing forces, humidity, and temperature.

Hospitalized patients often suffer from pressure injuries. However,pressure injuries are not limited to hospitalized patients. Individualsconfined to wheelchairs are prone to suffer from pressure injuries,especially in their pelvis, lower back, and ankles. Although easilypreventable or treatable if found early, if a pressure injury lingers,it becomes painful and treatment is both difficult and expensive. Inmany cases, pressure injuries can prove fatal, even under the auspicesof medical care. According to one estimate, 2.5 million people sufferfrom pressure injuries in the United States each year, resulting in over60,000 deaths annually.

An effective way of dealing with pressure injuries is to prevent theirformation. A common preventive approach is maintaining a strict routineof repositioning, e.g., rotating and/or turning, a subject to offload,to eliminate, to alleviate and/or to reduce pressure every two (2) tothree (3) hours. Research studies have shown that the effectiveness ofcaregiver repositioning techniques of patients is not adequateregardless of the level of experience and knowledge of the caregiver.

SUMMARY

In one or more embodiments, a pressure sensor device has pressuresensors arranged at locations on the pressure sensor device. Thepressure sensors are configured to provide sensor data regardingpressure experienced by a subject lying on the pressure sensor device atthe respective locations of the pressure sensors. A processor may becommunicatively coupled to the pressure sensor device to periodicallyreceive pressure sensor data. The processor may determine a bodyposition according to the pressure sensor data, and associate pressuresensor data to body areas of the subject according to the body position.The associated pressure sensor data may include sensor data indicativeof an absence of pressure sensor data or meaningful pressure sensor dataassociated with one or more of the number of body areas, e.g., the bodyarea is not in contact with the pressure sensor device during a periodof time when the pressure sensor data is being collected, as opposed toother periods of time when the body area is in contact with the pressuresensor device. Using the body position data and the associated pressuresensor data, the processor can calculate pressure experienced by one ormore of the body areas of the subject over a period of time.

In one or more embodiments, a method includes receiving input, e.g.,input from a caretaker, selecting at least one predefined body area of asubject, each predefined body area indicated as being a body areasusceptible to pressure injuries. The method further includesdetermining a body position according to pressure sensor data of apressure sensor device indicative of pressure experienced by thesubject, and associating the pressure sensor data to the at least onepredefined body area of the subject according to the body position tocreate associated sensor data. The associated sensor data may includesensor data indicative of an absence of pressure sensor data ormeaningful pressure sensor data associated with one or more of thenumber of body areas, e.g., the body area is not in contact with thepressure sensor device during a period of time when the pressure sensoris collected, as opposed to other periods of time when the body area isin contact with the pressure sensor device. The method may also includedisplaying, in a user interface, pressure history indications associatedwith a body pressure representation of the subject to provide graphicalrepresentations of the pressure history indications of the at least onepredefined body area. Each pressure history indication is configured tovisualize historical pressure values experienced by the respective bodyarea of the subject over a period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the embodiments and to show how it may becarried into effect, reference will now be made, purely by way ofexample, to the accompanying drawings.

With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressedthat the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of selected embodiments only, and are presentedin the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful andreadily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects.In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details in moredetail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding. Thedescription taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled inthe art how the several selected embodiments may be put into practice.In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the main components of a patient visualizationsystem according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an extended patient visualization systemaccording to an embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3D depict exploded, perspective views of multiple embodimentsof pressure detection devices;

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict a top plan view and a fragmented view,respectively, of another embodiment of a pressure detection sheet;

FIG. 5 is a data flow diagram of the processing of sensor pressure dataperformed by the processor of a patient visualization system;

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate computer user interfaces of the system foridentification of existing pressure injuries, adding new pressureinjuries and removing such identifications;

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate computer user interfaces of the system fordisplay of live and historical pressure assessment and observation of asubject;

FIG. 8 illustrates a magnified view of a body area pressure historyrepresented as a pie chart;

FIG. 9 illustrates a computer user interface of the system including adashboard for display of body position history represented visually in alower region of the dashboard and body area pressure history representedas pie charts in a peripheral region of the dashboard;

FIG. 10 illustrates a computer user interface of the system fordisplaying body reposition history represented as a vertical chart;

FIG. 11 illustrates a computer user interface of the system fordisplaying body area pressure history represented as a vertical chart;

FIG. 12 illustrates a computer user interface of the system forindicating that the reposition timer has identified an upcomingreposition event of the subject;

FIG. 13 illustrates a computer user interface of the system forindicating that the reposition timer has identified a past-duereposition event of the subject;

FIG. 14 illustrates a computer user interface of the system forindicating situations in which the subject has bottomed out so that thesubject is lying on a bed frame situated under the pressure detectionsheet and mattress;

FIG. 15 illustrates a computer user interface of the system forreceiving input from a caregiver, for example, as to what interventionwas taken to lower pressure in a body area;

FIG. 16 illustrates a computer user interface of a patient view to bepresented to the subject, or other individuals present, such as friendsand family, instead of to the caregiver; and

FIGS. 17A, 17B and 17C illustrate computer user interfaces in connectionwith an alert screen to alert an individual, e.g., a caregiver, of oneor more alert incidents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the present invention.

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to a patient visualizationsystem in connection with pressure injuries. Research studies have shownthat the effectiveness of caregiver repositioning techniques of patientsis not adequate regardless of the level of experience and knowledge ofthe caregiver. Available computer pressure monitors are not sufficientbecause they do not provide computer user interfaces with the pressurehistory of patients from the operating room to the intensive care unitto the general population. What is needed is a patient visualizationcomputer system that provides real-time, electronic delivery and displayof actionable data that empowers medical staff to identify criticalpressure injury situations, respond proactively and assist in theprevention of pressure injuries. The patient visualization computersystem disclosed in embodiments of the present invention provides atechnical solution to the technical drawbacks of currently proposedcomputer pressure monitors.

In embodiments of the present invention, the features of the patientvisualization system may include real time monitoring and tracking ofpressure injuries, tracking of body positioning and repositioning,tracking of pressure to those areas of the body that are susceptible topressure injuries, tracking and measuring nurse/caregiver compliance,and providing nurses and patients with line of sight and actionableinformation that together allow nurses, primarily, but also, patientsand their families/friends to make correct decisions and to take correctactions in effectively offloading patients. In certain embodiments, thisincludes computer user interfaces that show pressure experienced onspecific body areas susceptible to pressure injuries over time. Withthis specific purpose software, the system allows clinicians to trendpressure exposure on specific body areas, and allows hospitals to trendpressure data to combat pressure injuries.

As one feature, the patient visualization system may detect and observepressure experienced by a subject's body against a pressure detectionmat or other detection surface. The system may provide a caregiver witha visual representation of the pressure experienced by the subjectacross the surface. The system may also provide a representation ofpressure experienced by a body area over a designated period of time.Using the information regarding pressure to a body area over a period oftime, a caregiver may take appropriate action, such as to reposition,e.g., rotate and/or turn, a subject to offload pressure to the bodyarea.

To accurately measure pressure to a body area over a period of time, thesystem may be configured to associate pressure sensed by a pressuredetection mat with a body area of a subject. For instance, the pressuredetection mat senses pressure sensor data experienced by a subject overa period of time, the system determines the various levels of pressureover time based on the pressure sensor data and pixel pressurealgorithm, the system determines body position over time based on thepressure sensor data over time and a body position algorithm, and thesystem associates the pressure over time and the body position over timeto determine a pressure to a body area over a period of time. The bodyareas may be selected from a group of body areas susceptible to pressureinjuries, e.g., head, left shoulder, right shoulder, left elbow, rightelbow, tailbone, left hip, right hip, left knee, right knee, left foot,and right foot. In one embodiment, the system assigns a pressure foreach of the body areas susceptible to pressure injuries even for suchbody areas that are not in contact with the pressure detection sheet.The associated sensor data may include sensor data indicative of anabsence of pressure sensor data associated with one or more of thenumber of body areas, e.g., the body area is not in contact with thepressure sensor device during a period of time when the pressure sensoris collected, as opposed to other periods of time when the body area isin contact with the pressure sensor device.

A subject may change from a first body position to a second bodyposition to a third body position. Within the first and third bodypositions, a body area may not be in contact with the pressure detectionsheet, while the body area may be in contact with the pressure detectionsheet. The system records a value indicative of an absence of pressuresensor data during the periods when the subject is in the first andthird body positions and records a value indicative of the pressuresensor data while the subject is in the second body position. In oneembodiment, these values are recorded continuously between changes inbody position. By registering a value indicative of the lack of contactbetween the body area and the pressure detection sheet when a subject isnot in bed or a certain body area is not experiencing pressure or verylow levels of pressure is highly informative of offloading decisions.

The system may be further configured to provide a computer graphicalrepresentation of the various pressures to a body area over a period oftime. As an example, for each tracked body area, e.g., a body areasusceptible to pressure injury, the system displays a pie chart or othergraph indicating the various levels of pressure to a body area over aperiod of time, e.g., over the last two (2) hours. The system may alsobe configured to display a peak pressure, signifying the value of thehighest pressure pixel within a body area. Using these representationsfor the tracked body areas, a caregiver has useable information todetermine body areas of concern for pressure injuries and to makeeducated decisions as to whether any of a subject's body areassusceptible to pressure injuries require offloading.

By using the results of the body position algorithm applied to thepressure sensor data, the system may be configured to display a bodyposition history and reposition history over a certain period of time,e.g., the last three (3), six (6) or twelve (12) hours. The system canalso be configured to display a representation within the body positionhistory to identify and highlight when a reposition has not taken placeduring a required period of time, e.g., two (2) hours. Using thisvisualization, the caregiver has accurate information over time todetermine when offloading should take place, or if it has not occurred.The system may also be configured to display a representation of bodyarea pressure history that displays individual body area pressurehistory for a certain period of time, e.g. the last three (3), six (6)or twelve (12) hours. This representation provides pressure data overwhatever the selected period of time is for each body area prone topressure injuries.

When the system identifies a reduction in pressure on a tracked bodyarea without a corresponding change in body position of the patient, thesystem may request information from the caregiver regarding what action,commonly referred to as “intervention,” was performed to provide for thereduction in pressure. The system may provide a message including alisting of predefined choices from which the caregiver may select (e.g.,lowered head of bed, raised head of bed, placed pillow/wedge under bodyarea, removed foreign object, implemented a micro-shift of the topsheet, other, etc.). This action information may be retained by thesystem as part of the historical record for the subject, and may beviewable at a later date to allow caregivers to understand actions thatwere previously performed to the subject for offloading purposes.

The system may also use the recorded action information to providepredictive recommendations to the caregiver. In an example, responsiveto the system identifying high pressure to a specific body area in aspecific body position, the system may access subject historical data tolocate similar conditions of body area and/or body position where thepressure was lowered by caregiver action. If a similar condition isidentified, the system may present a message to the user indicating theintervention that was done to resolve the historical condition.Accordingly, the system may provide the caregiver with informationregarding previous actions used to address high-pressure situations,without recommending any actions to be performed by the caregiver in thedetected situation.

Reference is now made to the block diagram of FIG. 1, showing anembodiment of a patient visualization system 10. The system 10 mayinclude at least one pressure detection device 30 including a pluralityof sensors 32, a driver 20, a control unit 40 which may be connected toa power source 11, a processor 50, a data storage unit 60 and a displayunit 70. Power may be supplied via a power cord connected to a walloutlet, or via battery power, optionally rechargeable. Battery supportalso allows for movement of the bed without requiring a powering off ofthe system 10. As a safety measure and for compliance tracking,caregiver authentication may be required via a shutdown guard 22 toconfirm powering off of the control unit 40, such as with entry of acaregiver's employee identification number. While the system identifiedin FIG. 1 is a capacitive sensor system, in other embodiments, othermethods can be utilized, such as resistive or piezoresistive systems.

The sensors 32 may be arranged at different locations on thepressure-detection device 30. In an example, the sensors 32 may bearranged in a two-dimensional grid across the surface of the pressuredetection device 30. The driver 20 may supply voltage to the sensors 32in the pressure detection device 30, and the processor 50 may measurethe potential across the sensors 32, calculate impedance values for eachsensor 32, and store the data in a data storage unit 60. The stored datamay be further processed, analyzed, and displayed on the display unit70, such as a computer screen, laptop, personal digital assistant (PDA),tablet device, mobile phone screen, printed sheet, or integrated displayscreen. Although presented in the block diagram of FIG. 1 as separateblocks, the system 10 may optionally be integrated into a stand-alonesystem.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an extended patient visualization system 100may include a number of sub-systems 100 a-100 h in communication with acommon remote control center 500. The sub-systems 100 a-100 h may be,for example, beds in a hospital or care home, and may be configured tocommunicate with the common remote control center 500, for example at anursing station. This communication can be provided via wiring to anurse call system, or alternatively via wireless communication (e.g.,BLUETOOTH, ZIGBEE, Wi-Fi, cellular, etc.) to the nursing station.Alternatively, the plurality of sub-systems 100 a-100 h may be locatedremotely from one another, for example each in an individual home, andthe remote control center 500 may be a manned observation station.

The remote control center 500 may include a data storage unit 560 forstoring data from the sub-systems 100 a-100 h and a display unit 570 forpresenting and/or displaying the data as required. The remote controlcenter 500 may additionally provide processing and driving functionalityfor controlling multiple sub-systems. Optionally, each sub-system 100a-100 h may have its own dedicated display unit 170 a-h for processing,storing and displaying data locally.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3A showing an embodiment of a pressuredetection device 30 as a pressure detection sheet or mat 200. Thepressure detection sheet 200 includes capacitive sensors 210 arranged ina form of a matrix. The sheet 200 may have two layers 220 a, 220 b ofconductive material separated by an insulating layer 230 of isolatingmaterial. Each of the conductive layers 220 a, 220 b may includeparallel conductive strips 222, 224 and the two conductive layers 220 a,220 b of strips 222, 224 may be arranged orthogonally such that in oneconductive layer 220 a the strips 222 are horizontal and in the otherconductive layer 220 b the strips 224 are vertical. Horizontal andvertical are used herein to describe the relative relationship of strips222, 224 to one another, and these terms are not intended to belimiting. Each strip 222, 224 may be wired to a control unit and mayoperate under a low voltage source.

The sensors 210 incorporated in the pressure detection sheet 200 mayprovide measurements based on the capacitance between the sections ofthe conducting strips 222, 224 overlapping at each “intersection” of avertical conductive strip with a horizontal conductive strip. Thesecapacitive sensors 210 may be configured such that pressure on thesurface of the pressure detection sheet 200 changes the spacing betweenthe two conductive layers 220 a and 220 b, and consequently changes thecapacitance of the intersections of the strips 222, 224.

The driver 20 may provide an oscillating electric potential across eachsensor 210 and may measure the alternating current produced. Forinstance, the driver 20 may provide an electric potential to one of thestrips (e.g., strip 222) and may measure the electrical potential on theother strip (e.g., strip 224), such that the capacitance of theoverlapping section (i.e., capacitive sensors 210) may be determined.Thus, the driver 20 may calculate the impedance of the intersection ofthe strips 222, 224 and determine the capacitance of the intersectionfrom the impedance. Accordingly, where the mechanical properties of thesensors 210 are known, the driver 20 may deduce the pressure on thesensors 210 of the pressure detection sheet 200.

To make a stable reading of impedance values from a row of sensors 32,little or no movement should be made by the subject during the taking ofreadings from the sensors 32. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, thetime taken for readings may be of the order of tens or hundreds ofmilliseconds, during which movement of the subject is generallyinsignificant. In applications where the subject is largely immobile,longer reading times may be used.

In some embodiments, the materials for the conductive layers 220 a, 220b and insulating layers 230 are flexible. The insulation material may bea compressible sponge-like, airy or porous material (e.g., foam),allowing for a change in density when pressure is applied to it.

The pressure detection sheet 200 may be placed underneath or otherwiseintegrated with other material layers 240 a, 240 b such as used instandard bed sheets. The additional materials may confer furtherproperties as needed for a particular application. The conductivematerial of the sensors 210 may be wrapped by an isolating, waterresistant, breathable cover sheet or the like, allowing minimumdiscomfort to the subject resting on the sheet.

With reference now to FIGS. 3B-3D showing sections of other embodimentsof the pressure detection sheet 200, the conductive layers 220 (FIG. 3A)may be supported by various substrates. For example, FIG. 3B shows twoconductive layers 2220 a, 2220 b adhered or otherwise attached to theinsulating layer 2230. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2C, conductivelayers 3220 a, 3220 b may be supported by separate substrates 3210 a,3210 b, for example thermoplastic polyurethane, the insulating layer 230being sandwiched therebetween. In still another embodiment, as shown inFIG. 2D, the conductive layers 4220 a, 4220 b may themselves each besandwiched between two substrates 4212 a, 4214 a, 4212 b, 4214 b,respectively.

With reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a top view and a fragmented view,respectively, are shown of a further embodiment of a pressure detectionsheet 5000. The pressure detection sheet 5000 includes a sensor matrix5500, such as described above, housed within a cover sheet 5400 andwhich may be sealed by a zipper 5420, or other fastener, as required.

With reference to FIG. 5, the processor 50 may receive pressure sensordata 502 from the sensors 32 of the pressure detection device 30, andutilize a body position algorithm 504 to determine a body position 506of the subject based on a position library. The processor 50 may furtheruse a pixel pressure algorithm 508 to determine pixel pressure 510exerted on the pressure detection device 30 based on the pressure sensordata 502. The body position 506 and the pixel pressure 510 are used bybody area pressure algorithm 512 to determine pressure to a body areaover a period of time 514.

The processor 50 may be implemented as a combination of hardware andsoftware, and may include one or more software applications, modules, orprocesses stored in memory for causing one or more computing devices toperform the operations described herein. The body position algorithm504, pixel pressure algorithm 508, body area pressure algorithm 512, andother operations and algorithms described with respect to the data flowof FIG. 5 may be such applications, modules, or processes, and may beimplemented at least in part by instructions stored on one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media. In one or more embodiments, a“pixel” may represent a single sensor of the sensors 32.

The pressure sensor data 502 may include data indicative of the pressureexerted on each of the sensors 32 of the pressure detection device 30.In an example, the pressure sensor data 502 may include a pressuredistribution image or data set having a set of readings taken from eachof the sensors 32 of the pressure detection device 30. In anotherexample, the processor 50 may form the pressure sensor data 502 into apressure distribution histogram (sometimes referred to as a pressuredistribution signature vector) by creating a one-dimensional array, orvector, of the pressure sensor data 502 relating to a pressure imagefeature.

Various approaches may be used by the processor 50 to generate pressuredistribution signature vectors from pressure distribution images. As anexample, a signature vector of a maximum point distance feature may beobtained by: removing pixels having pressure values below a firstthreshold; identifying local maxima by selecting pixels whose pressurevalues are greater than or equal to all bordering pixels; clustering thelocal maxima into sets of a given size; obtaining a point average foreach set of maxima, perhaps by calculating a spatial average therefor.Accordingly, an output vector may be generated arraying the distancesbetween the local maxima average points. Another approach may be usedfor generating a pressure distribution signature vector including ahistogram of pressure values. Optionally, the pressure value of eachpixel may be arrayed into a histogram of total pressure values.Alternatively, or additionally, a partial pressure histogram may begenerated by: calculating a spatial average for all values below athreshold value, the values being weighted for their positions;calculating the spatial averages; choosing a square of twice thestandard deviation of data relative to the average position point;calculating a histogram of values out of this square. Still anotherapproach may be used for generating a pressure distribution signaturevector based upon the position of the pixels. The values of pixels maybe selected where the pixel location is within a defined range.

The body position 506 may be an indication of the body position of asubject recumbent on the pressure detection device 30. In an example,the body position 506 may include a back-side resting body position, aright side resting body position, a stomach or front-side resting bodyposition, an out of bed position, or a left side resting body position.In one or more embodiments, the body position 506 may further indicateone or more position variants of the identified body position. Forinstance, the body position 506 may indicate an amount of lean of thesubject to the right or to the left, an amount of shift or angle of oneor more limbs of the subject, and/or an amount of turn of the head ofthe subject.

The position library may include a set of reference pressure imagescorresponding to various body positions. Each image of the positionlibrary may include data representative of a model of a body positionand an association of the data with an identifier of the body positionrepresented by the data. The data of the reference pressure images mayinclude a pressure distribution image and/or a pressure distributionhistogram. To create the position library, an operator may recordsamples of subjects adopting known body positions and may store thepressure images or their associated pressure histograms in the positionlibrary.

The body position algorithm 504 may utilize the pressure sensor data 502and the position library to identify the body position 506 of thesubject. The identification may enable body features (e.g., body areas)to be recognized as well as for the pressure sensor data 502 to beassociated with a body coordinate system. In an example, the bodyposition algorithm 504 may compare the pressure sensor data 502 to thereference position images of the position library, and may determinewhich of the reference position images of the position library bestmatches the pressure sensor data 502. The body position algorithm 504may further identify a period of time during which the subject is ineach recorded position.

The body position algorithm 504 may implement one or more of variouscomparison algorithms to compare the recorded pressure image of thepressure sensor data 502 to the candidate images of the positionlibrary. These comparison algorithms may include, for example, particlecomponent analysis, support vector machine, K-mean, two-dimensional fastFourier analysis, earth movers distance, and the like.

As a more specific example, the body position algorithm 504 may comparethe recorded pressure image of the pressure sensor data 502 and thecandidate images of the position library by comparing pressuredistribution histograms of the recorded image and the candidate image.The histogram may serve as a signature of the pressure image features,and the body position algorithm 504 may utilize a comparison method toprovide a similarity rating between feature signatures.

The pixel pressure algorithm 508 may be configured to determine pixelpressure 510 exerted on the pressure detection device based on thepressure sensor data 502. In an example, the pixel pressure algorithm508 may assign pressure values from the pressure sensor data 502.

The body area pressure algorithm 512 determines pressure to a body areaover a period of time based on pixel pressure 510, body position 506 andbody areas. The body area pressure algorithm 512 may assign body areasin which there is an absence of pressure sensor data a pressure valueindicative of this absence.

The result of the process and algorithms set forth in FIG. 5 may bereferred to as pressure to a body area over a period of time 514, andmay be stored in the data storage unit 60 or other data store of thesystem 10. In an example, the pressure to a body area over a period oftime 514 may include for each timeframe, an indication of the bodyposition 506 of the subject, as well as the pressure valuescorresponding to the body areas, whether or not the body areas were incontact with the pressure detection device 30 or otherwise exertingpressure. Accordingly, the pressure to a body area over a period of time514 may include body pressure values for body areas being tracked basedon the body area selection, even when there is an absence of pressuresensor data associated with one or more of the number of body areas,e.g., the body area is not in contact with the pressure sensor deviceduring a period of time when the pressure sensor data is beingcollected, as opposed to other periods of time when the body area is incontact with the pressure sensor device.

The body areas may include a listing of body areas that are susceptibleto pressure injuries. These body areas may include bony prominences,which are areas in which bones are close to the surface of the body. Inan example, the body areas may include the head, shoulders, hips, knees,feet, tailbone, elbows, heels, and spine. The body areas selection mayinclude identification of the predefined body areas that are selected bya caregiver, e.g., body areas that have a pressure injury currently orin the recent past.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate user interfaces 600 of the system foridentification of existing pressure injuries, adding new pressureinjuries, and removing such identifications. In one or more embodiments,the user interfaces 600 are configured to receive touch screen input. Inan example, the user interfaces 600 may be presented to the caregivervia the display unit 70. The user interfaces 600 may be presentedresponsive to the caregiver requesting to adjust the body areas to beobserved, or responsive to the system 10 otherwise wishing to confirmthe body areas, such as when a subject lies down on the pressuredetection device 30 after not lying on the pressure detection device 30.

In one embodiment, a pressure signature algorithm can record a pressuresignature of a subject to determine whether or not the same patient islying on the device 30 after not lying on the device 30. The pressuresignature algorithm can determine from the current pressure signatureand a historic pressure signature whether the same patient is lying onthe pressure detection device 30 within a margin of error, e.g., 5.0%,1.0%, 0.1% to 0.01%. If the determination is within the margin of error,then the system 10 assumes that the same subject is present. If thedetermination is outside of the margin of error, the system uses itsdefaults settings, e.g., if there is no patient lying on the device 30for more than a time threshold, e.g., 2 hours, then the system defaultsto a new person is lying on the device 30, and if it is less than thetime threshold, e.g., 2 hours, then the system defaults to the sameperson lying on device 30.

FIG. 6A depicts a user interface 600-A to display one or more body areascurrently selected to indicate the presence of a pressure injury in theone or more body areas of the subject. Pressure injury icon 602-A can beshown at each of the one or more body areas selected relative to arepresentation 603 of the subject. The representation 603 as shown inFIG. 6A is a back-side resting body position representation of thesubject. A front-side resting body position representation is alsocontemplated by one or more embodiments. As shown in FIG. 6A, a pressureinjury icon 602-A is shown at the tailbone body area of the subject asdepicted by representation 603. User interface 600-A includes a confirmcontrol 604 and an edit control 606. When selected, the confirm control604 confirms the selected one or more body areas as having a pressureinjury. When selected, the edit control 606 permits the user to selectadditional body areas having pressure injuries and to deselect bodyareas in which a pressure injury is no longer present. User interface600-A also includes a live image control 608. Upon selection of the liveimage control 608, the display unit 70 displays a live image of thesubject, such as, the user interface 700 depicted in FIG. 7 anddescribed below.

Upon selection of the edit control 606, user interface 600-B of FIG. 6Bmay be displayed. FIG. 6B includes a number of body area controls 610that relate to a corresponding body area and are configured to allow forselection and deselection of the corresponding body area. For instance,in the illustrated example, the body area controls 610 include a leftshoulder body area control 610-A, a left elbow body area control 610-B,a tailbone body area control 610-C, a left hip body area control 610-D,a left knee body area control 610-E, a left foot body area control610-F, a head body area control 610-G, a right shoulder body areacontrol 610-H, a right elbow body area control 610-I, a right hip bodyarea control 610-J, a right knee body area control 610-K, and a rightfoot body area control 610-L.

As shown in the user interface 600-B, the tailbone body area control610-C has been selected. As depicted by a selector icon 612, a user isin the process of selecting right elbow body area control 610-I. Onceselected, a pressure injury icon 602-B is displayed on the right elbowbody area of representation 603 as shown in FIG. 6C. As further shown inFIG. 6C, the selector icon 612 is used to select the enter control 614to enter the selection of the right elbow body area control 610-I intothe data storage unit 60 of system 10.

The user interface 600-D of FIG. 6D includes indications of whichselectable body area controls 610 are currently selected for thesubject. For instance, in the illustrated example the tailbone body areacontrol 610-C and the right elbow body area control 610-I are selected.If the caregiver is satisfied with these selections, the caregiver mayselect the reconfirm control 616 to confirm the body area selections. Ifnot, the caregiver may select the edit control 618 to allow thecaregiver to edit the body area selection.

Representation 603 of FIGS. 6A-6D is a back-side resting body positionrepresentation of a subject. Similarly, a user interface may include afront-side resting body position representation of a subject, over whichbody area controls 610 may be positioned. The front-side resting bodyposition user interface may also include a representation of whichresting side of the subject is being represented. Moreover, the bodyarea controls 610 may correspond to body areas visible from thefront-side resting body position of the subject rather than theback-side resting body position of the subject.

FIG. 7A illustrates a user interface 700-A of the system 10 for displayof live and historical pressure assessment and observation of a subject.The user interface 700-A may be presented to the caregiver via thedisplay unit 70.

The user interface 700-A may include a body area pressure representation702 indicating current subject body area pressure values based on thepressure sensor data 502, to allow the caregiver to understand whichareas are of greater or lesser pressure as part of a live pressureassessment. The body area pressure representation 702 may distinguishareas of different pressure according to various visual mechanisms. Forinstance, areas of higher pressure are displayed in different colors orpatterns as compared to areas of lower pressure. The values of the bodyarea pressure representation 702 may be specified along a scaleillustrated by a legend 704. In an example, the legend 704 may specifyvalues or ranges of high pressure in red, and values of decreasingpressure as colors along a red-orange-yellow-green-blue color spectrum,for example. In one embodiment, a red range is 75+ mmHg, an orange rangeis 60-74 mmHg, a yellow range is 45-59 mmHg, a green range is 30-44mmHg, a light blue range is 15-29 mmHg, a blue range is 1-14 mmHg and ablack value is 0 mmHg.

The user interface 700-A includes body area pressure history indications706 associated with the pressure representation 702 of the subject. FIG.8 shows a magnified view of a body area pressure history indication 706.The body area pressure history indications 706 may be configured toprovide graphical representations of the pressure against each body areaselected. The user interface 700-A depicts body area pressure historyindications 706-A and 706-B for the right elbow body area and thetailbone body area, respectively. These body areas were selected as bodyareas with existing pressure injuries as depicted in FIGS. 6A-6D. Asshown in FIG. 7-A, the pressure representation is a front-side restingbody position representation of the subject; although a back-sideresting body position representation is also contemplated.

For each tracked body area, e.g., the right elbow body area and thetailbone body area as shown in FIG. 7A, the user interface 700-Adisplays a body area pressure history indication 706. The body areapressure history indication 706 is a graphical representation configuredto visualize the pressure to a selected body area over a period of time,e.g., the interval of the reposition timer. As shown in FIG. 7A, thebody area pressure history indication is a pie chart. As shown, the piechart displays the amount of time within each different pressurecategory, level or range, including no pressure, using the same colorcoding as the body area pressure representation 702. These amounts oftime within each different pressure category, level or range are shownfor the time period designated by the number in the center of the piechart, e.g., the interval of the reposition timer, which can be adjustedby the caregiver within system 10. In one embodiment, the default forthe reposition interval is two (2) hours. These amounts of time aredisplayed starting at a twelve o'clock position on the pie chart andrepresent each amount of time within each pressure category, level orrange from high to low in a clockwise orientation. The user interfacealso includes an indication of peak pressure 708, signifying the highestpressure registered at any pixel within the body area at that moment orinstant of time. FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of an indication of peakpressure 708.

As shown in the user interface 700-A, each body area pressure historyindication 706 may include a mark surrounding the corresponding trackedbody area to which the graphical representations of the pressure overtime is linked, e.g., by a lead line.

The user interface 700-A includes pressure injury indications 710 forthose body areas previously identified by the caregiver during setup ascurrently having pressure injuries. For instance, the body area pressurehistory indications 710-A and 710-B are indicated as currently having apressure injury. In one embodiment, those body area pressure indicationsassociated with a current pressure injury are always displayed on userinterface 700-A.

The user interface 700-A may also include side indications 712 to aidthe caregiver in understanding the positioning of the subject. As shownin FIG. 7A, left side indication 712-A is on the right side of userinterface 700-A and right side indication 712-B is on the left side ofuser interface 700-A. Accordingly, the left side of the subject isdepicted on the right side of the user interface 700-A and the rightside of the subject is depicted on the left side of the user interface700-A.

The user interface 700 may also include a subject identifier 714 toindicate to the caregiver the name and/or identifier of the subject. Theuser interface 700 may also include further controls, such as areposition timer 716 indicating when the subject should next berepositioned. It should be noted that the user interface 700 are merelyexamples, and more, fewer, or different layouts of controls includingbody area pressure history indications 706 may be used.

The user interface 700 may also include additional controls to allow fornavigation to other user interfaces with the system 10. The userinterface 700-A may include menu controls 718 and 720. Upon selection ofmenu control 718, a dashboard user interface (as shown in FIG. 9, forexample) may be displayed or a user interface to input interventioninformation relating to lower pressure in a body area (as shown in FIG.15, for example). Upon selection of menu control 720, a side bar menufor displaying a menu of various functions of system 10 to be displayed.

FIG. 7B depicts body area pressure history indication 706-C for the leftheel of the subject. The pie chart of body area pressure historyindication 706-C encloses a heel not floated status indicator for theleft heel. Although shown for the left heel, the heel not floated statuscan be displayed for the right heel or both heels. The body areapressure history indication 706-C can be presented to the caregiver viadisplay unit 70. A floated heel may indicate that the subject's heel ispositioned in such a way to remove all or most of the pressure to theheel from the support surface, e.g., the mattress. Often, a blanket ison the subject, obscuring the caregiver's view of the heel or heels. Inthese situations, the caregiver would need to remove the blanket todetermine the float status of the heel or heels. According to system 10and user interface 700-B, a determination is made based on the sensorpressure data 502 using the body position detection algorithm 504 andthe pressure determination algorithm 508. If it is determined that theheel(s) are not floated, then the boy area pressure history indication706-C includes a “not floated” indicator 722. Accordingly, withoutdisturbing the subject, a caregiver can realize whether or not theheel(s) are floated, and take action based on the status. Certainsubjects may need their heel(s) floated as much as possible, and allindividuals need their heels floated from time to time because it is aleading area of pressure injuries. The “not floated” indicator 722 maybe used by a caregiver to determine that the subject should be adjustedto float the heel or heels.

FIG. 9 illustrates a computer user interface 900 of the system includinga dashboard for display of body position history represented visually ina lower region of the dashboard and body area pressure historyrepresented as pie charts in a peripheral region of the dashboard. Userinterface 900 may be presented to the caregiver via the display unit 70,e.g., responsive to the caregiver selecting the menu control 718 of userinterface 700-A.

The user interface 900 may include a body position history 902configured to indicate to the caregiver the relative amounts of timethat the subject spent in each of a set of predefined body positions.For instance, as shown the body position history 902 includes indicationof the amount of time that the subject spent within each of a number ofbody positions, e.g., back-side resting body position, a right sideresting body position, a stomach or front-side resting body position, anout of bed position, or a left side resting body position. The bodyposition history 902 indicates that the subject was on his/her back 68%of the time, on his/her right side 19% of the time, on his/her left side0% of the time, on his/her front side 0% of the time, and out of the bed13% of the time. A body area pressure history 904 indicates pressure ofindividual body areas over time in a pie chart representation. As shownbelow in FIG. 11, body area pressure history is represented in avertical chart as opposed to a pie chart representation as depicted inFIG. 9.

The user interface 1000 of FIG. 10 may include a body reposition history1002 in a vertical chart configured to present information indicative ofthe body position 504 of the subject over the last six (6) hours,although other periods of time, such as three (3) and twelve (12) hoursare contemplated. The user interface 1000 includes a body repositionhistory timeline 1004 to identify the timing of each period of bodyposition and each reposition between two successive body positions. Eachperiod of body position also includes an indication 1006 of total timein that body position and an indication 1008 of the body position. At1010, a time scale is provided for showing the elapsed time within therelevant period of time, e.g., six (6) hours as shown in FIG. 10. At1012, the user interface 1000 identifies and highlights when repositionhas not taken place within the prescribed period of time or interval,e.g., two (2) hours as shown in FIG. 10. The user interface 1000 mayalso include additional features, such as time period controls 1014that, when selected, causes the body reposition history 1002 to bedisplayed for the identified time period.

FIG. 11 illustrates a user interface 1100 of the system 10 fordisplaying body area pressure history represented as a vertical chart.In an example, the user interface 1100 may be presented to the caregivervia the display unit 70, e.g., responsive to the caregiver selecting anobserved body area of the user interface 700A, for example. The bodyarea pressure history can be shown in the selected reposition historyperiod, or if no reposition history period is selected, the default istwo (2) hours, or the pressure history of all body areas can be shown ona dashboard, as shown in FIG. 9. User interface 1100 includes body areapressure history 1102 configured to present information indicative ofthe body position 504 of the subject over the last six (6) hours,although other periods of time, such as three (3) and twelve (12) hoursare contemplated. The body area pressure history 1102 includes a bodyarea pressure history and body reposition history timeline 1104 toidentify the timing of each period of body position and each repositionbetween two successive body positions. Each period of body position alsoincludes an indication 1106 of total time in that body position and anindication 1108 of the body position, and the pressure category, levelor range. At 1110, a time scale is provided for showing the elapsed timewithin the relevant period of time, e.g., six (6) hours as shown in FIG.11. At 1112, the user interface 1100 identifies and highlights whenreposition has not taken place within the prescribed period of time orinterval. Thus, the body area pressure history 1102 may be used to allowa caretaker to visually review both subject body position and body areapressure at a specific body area. The user interface 1100 may alsoinclude additional features, such as a time period control 1114 that,when selected, causes the body area pressure history 1102 to bedisplayed for the identified time period. The user interface 1100 mayalso include a label 1116 indicating that the display is of the bodyarea pressure history for the selected body area of the subject.

FIG. 12 illustrates a user interface 1200 of the system 10 forindicating that the reposition timer 716 identifies an upcomingreposition event of the subject. In an example, the user interface 1200may be presented to the caregiver via the display unit 70, e.g.,responsive to the system determining that the reposition timer 716 hasreached below a predetermined time threshold, e.g., fifteen (15)minutes. The reposition timer 716 may count down so long as the bodyposition 506 remains consistent, but may reset back to the value of atimer interval control, e.g., two (2) hours, responsive to a change inthe body position 506. For instance, the reposition timer 716 may resetresponsive to determination that the subject is in a new position for apredefined period of time, such as in a new position for at least one(1) minute.

Responsive to the reposition timer 716 falling below the thresholdvalue, the system 10 may display a reposition alert 1202 on the userinterface 1200. In an example, the reposition alert 1202 may beconfigured to display in a conspicuous manner, e.g., pulse in yellow, todraw the attention of a caretaker. The reposition alert 1202 mayautomatically dismiss responsive to a change in the body position 506.In other embodiments, the alert 1202 may be an audible alert or an alerttransmitted to a caregiver's station or caregiver directly.

FIG. 13 illustrates a user interface 1300 of the system 10 forindicating that the reposition timer 716 identifies a past-duereposition event of the subject. In an example, the user interface 1300may be presented to the caregiver via the display unit 70, e.g.,responsive to the system determining that the reposition timer 716 hasexpired. For instance, if no change in body position 506 is detecteddespite display of the reposition alert 1302, the system may transitionto display of the reposition warning 1302. In an example, the repositionwarning 1302 may be configured to display in a conspicuous manner, e.g.,pulse in red and sound an alarm, to draw the attention of a caretaker.The reposition warning 1302 may automatically dismiss responsive to achange in the body position 506 for the predetermined period of time asdiscussed above. In other embodiments, the warning 1302 may be anaudible alert or an alert transmitted to a caregiver's station orcaregiver directly.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example user interface 1400 of the system 10 forindicating situations in which the sensors 32 of the pressure detectiondevice 30 indicate that the subject has bottomed out so that the subjectis lying on the bed frame situated under the pressure detection sheetand mattress. In an example, the user interface 1400 may be presented tothe caregiver via the display unit 70, e.g., responsive to the systemdetermining that the pressure for a region of the pressure-detectiondevice 30 consistently reads a value indicative of full pressure acrossa large area, such as the sacral body region as this is where a largeconcentration of weight resides, especially if the head of the bed iselevated. This may occur for many reasons, e.g., a traditional foammattress has deteriorated in the sacral body region due to too long ofuse, or in the case of air beds where the bed is under-inflated. Theuser interface 1400 may include a bottoming-out warning indication 1402that the bottoming out condition is detected, as well as a bottomed-outarea warning indication 1404 around the area of full pressure triggeringthe warning to occur. In an example, the bottoming out warningindication 1404 and bottomed-out area warning indication 1404 may beconfigured to display in a conspicuous manner, e.g., pulsing in redand/or sounding an alarm, to draw the attention of a caretaker.

FIG. 15 illustrates user interface 1500 of the system 10 for receivinginput from a caregiver as to what intervention was taken to lowerpressure in a body area. The user interface 1500 may be presented to thecaregiver via the display unit 70, e.g., responsive to the system 10determining that intervention was taken to lower pressure in a bodyarea.

As shown in FIG. 15, the notification indication 1502 indicates thatthere are two pending notifications for the caregiver. Details of one ofthe pending notifications is displayed to the user in the balloonindication 1504, e.g., responsive to the caregiver selecting thenotification indication 1502. By using the notification indication 1502,the system 10 may accordingly provide notifications to the caregiverthat may be answered when convenient, without obscuring or otherwisetaking over the user interface of the display unit 70 when thenotifications are not being addressed.

As shown in the balloon indication 1504, the notification includes adescription 1506 indicating that pressure was reduced on one of the bodyarea of the subject (in this example, the left foot). The user interface1500 also includes a graphical indication 1508 associated with thelocation of the pressure representation 702 where the pressure wasreduced. As shown, the intervention controls 1510 may include: anadd/adjust pillow intervention control 1510-A that may be selected toindicate that a pillow was used to address a high pressure situation, anadd/adjust wedges intervention control 1510-B that may be selected toindicate that a wedge was used to address a high pressure situation, alower head of bed intervention control 1510-C that may be selected toindicate that the head of the bed was lowered to address a high pressuresituation, a microshifting intervention control 1510-D that may beselected to indicate that microshifting was performed to address a highpressure situation, an adjust-inflation intervention control 1510-E thatmay be selected to indicate that settings of the air bed were adjustedto address a high pressure situation, an object-removed interventioncontrol 1510-F that may be selected to indicate that a wedge, pillow orother object was removed to address high pressure situation, and an“other” intervention control 1510-G that may be selected to allow fortext or voice entry of a description of an action that was performedthat is not listed by the other intervention controls 1510.

Thus, the system 10 may save the received action information inconnection with data regarding the lowering of pressure in a body area,such that when similar situations occur in the future, the system maypresent to the caregiver information regarding the actions that wereindiciated as being performed to address the situations in the past.

FIG. 16 illustrates user interface 1600 of a patient view to bepresented to the subject, family or friend, instead of to the caregiver.In an example, the display unit 70 may present the patient view when thedisplay unit 70 has not been interacted with by a caregiver for apredefined timeout period of time (e.g., five minutes, etc.). As opposedto the user interfaces discussed above (referred to sometimes as nurseor caregiver views), the patient view user interface 1600 is designed togive information suitable for viewing by the subject (e.g., an enlargedview of the pressure representation), but without display of patentdetails or details relating to the condition of the patient.

In the illustrated example interface 1600, the patient view includes thebody area pressure representation 702 of the subject and the legend 704indicating the values of the body area pressure history 702. The patientview may also display the reposition timer 1602 indicating when thesubject should be moved. However, the patient view does not display thedetails related to body areas, such as the body area pressure history,peak pressure value indications, body position history, and/or bodyreposition history timeline 1004, shown in other user interfaces.

The user interface 1600 may also include a patient view label 1604 toindicate to users that the user interface 1600 is for the subject toview, and does not include the additional medical details available inthe nurse views. As the user interface 1600 is for patients and notmedical caregivers, the user interface 1600 includes a tutorial control1606 that, when selected, presents a tutorial explaining thefunctionality of the display unit 70 in a manner appropriate for thesubject. The user interface 1600 also includes a nurse view control 1608that, when selected, transitions the user interface 1600 from thepatient view to the nurse view, e.g., from the user interface 1600 to auser interface such as one of the user interfaces 700. In some cases,credentials such as a login/password or biometrics may be required to beprovided to the display unit 70 or other system 10 element to transitionthe user interface back to the nurse/caretaker view.

FIGS. 17A, 17B and 17C illustrate computer user interfaces in connectionwith an alert screen to alert an individual, e.g., a caregiver, of oneor more alert incidents. Once informed of the alert incident, thecaregiver can take an action to resolve or address the alert incident.

FIG. 17A illustrates a user interface 1700-A of the system 10 fordisplay of live and historical pressure assessment and observation of asubject. The user interface 1700-A may be presented to a caregiver viathe display unit 70. User interface 1700-A includes an alert control1702 for alerting a user that an alert incident has occurred. The alertcontrol 1702 may be selectively displayed while an alert incident isactive. The system 10 can include a duration period for each alertincident in which alert control 1702 is displayed. In one embodiment,the duration period is six (6) hours. As described below, the alertcontrol 1702 can be selectively removed from user interface 1700-A onceit is selected by the user and the user views an alert incident userinterface and/or takes corrective action determined by the system 10 orthrough user input. Once the user selects alert control 1702, an alertincident user interface is displayed.

FIGS. 17B and 17C illustrate examples of user interfaces 1700-B and1700-C of the system 10 for displaying one or more alert incidents. Theuser interfaces 1700-B and 1700-C may be presented to a caregiver viathe display unit 70. Window 1704 is configured to display one or morebody areas that currently have a pressure injury for reference by thecaregiver. Each user interface 1700-B and 1700-C includes a number ofwindows 1706 through 1712 in which each window is configured to displaya current alert incident or indicate that no such incident is currentlyactive. Window 1706 is configured to display an alert when pressure iscurrently detected on one or more body areas experiencing a pressureinjury. Window 1708 is configured to display an alert when a patient hasbottomed out, as described above. Window 1710 is configured to displayan alert when the left and/or right heels are not floated, as describedabove. Window 1712 is configured to display an alert when one or morescheduled repositions have been missed. These alert incidents providespecific information to a caregiver to take immediate corrective actionto address the alert incident.

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/343,808(WSTL 0153 PUS) filed Nov. 4, 2016, and is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

In general, computing systems and/or devices may employ any of a numberof computer operating systems, including, but by no means limited to,versions and/or varieties of the Microsoft Windows™ operating system,the Unix operating system (e.g., the Solaris™ operating systemdistributed by Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, Calif.), the AIXUNIX operating system distributed by International Business Machines ofArmonk, N.Y., the Linux operating system, the Mac OS X and iOS operatingsystems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., the BlackBerryOS distributed by Research In Motion of Waterloo, Canada, and theAndroid operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance.

Computing devices generally include computer-executable instructions,where the instructions may be executable by one or more computingdevices such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions maybe compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using avariety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, withoutlimitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C#, C++,Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, etc. In general, a processor ormicroprocessor receives instructions, e.g., from a memory, acomputer-readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored andtransmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium thatparticipates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read bya computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may takemany forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media andvolatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical ormagnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include,for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted by oneor more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wire, andfiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled toa processor of a computer. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any otheroptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium withpatterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Databases, data repositories, or other data stores described herein mayinclude various kinds of mechanisms for storing, accessing, andretrieving various kinds of data, including a hierarchical database, aset of files in a file system, an application database in a proprietaryformat, a relational database management system (RDBMS), etc. Each suchdata store is generally included within a computing device employing acomputer operating system such as one of those mentioned above, and areaccessed via a network in any one or more of a variety of manners. Afile system may be accessible from a computer operating system, and mayinclude files stored in various formats. An RDBMS generally employs theStructured Query Language (SQL) in addition to a language for creating,storing, editing, and executing stored procedures, such as the PL/SQLlanguage mentioned above.

In some examples, system elements may be implemented ascomputer-readable instructions (e.g., software) on one or more computingdevices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.), stored on computerreadable media associated therewith (e.g., disks, memories, etc.). Acomputer program product may include such instructions stored oncomputer readable media for carrying out the functions described herein.Such instructions may be provided as software that when executed by theprocessor provides the operations described herein. Alternatively, theinstructions may be provided as hardware or firmware, or combinations ofsoftware, hardware, and/or firmware.

With regard to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc.described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps ofsuch processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to acertain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with thedescribed steps performed in an order other than the order describedherein. It further should be understood that certain steps could beperformed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or thatcertain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, thedescriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose ofillustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed soas to limit the claimed invention.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather,the words used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may becombined to form further embodiments of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A patient visualization system in connection withpressure injuries comprising: a computer communicatively coupled to apressure sensor device and having non-transitory memory for storingmachine instructions that are to be executed by the computer, themachine instructions when executed by the computer implement thefollowing functions: receive pressure sensor data experienced by asubject lying upon the pressure sensor device and at locations on thepressure sensor device; determine a body position of the subject basedon the pressure sensor data, a body position algorithm, and a number ofbody positions; associate the pressure sensor data to a number of bodyareas of the subject based on the body position, the associated sensordata includes sensor data indicative of an absence of pressure sensordata in connection with one or more of the number of body areas;determine pressure experienced by the number of body areas of thesubject over a period of time based on the associated sensor data; andformat the pressure experienced by the number of body areas of thesubject over a period of time for display to a caregiver.
 2. The patientvisualization system of claim 1, wherein the sensor data indicative ofan absence of pressure sensor data in connection with one or more of thenumber of body areas is indicative of the one or more of the number ofbody areas not being in contact with the pressure sensor device during aperiod of time when the pressure sensor data is being collected.
 3. Thepatient visualization system of claim 1, wherein the sensor dataindicative of an absence of pressure sensor data in connection with oneor more of the number of body areas is an indicative value.
 4. Thepatient visualization system of claim 3, wherein the indicative value iszero.
 5. The patient visualization system of claim 3, wherein indicativevalue is non-zero.
 6. The patient visualization system of claim 1,wherein the functions are programmed to be carried out repetitively overtime.
 7. The patient visualization system of claim 1, wherein thefunctions are programmed to be carried out sequentially.
 8. A patientvisualization method in connection with pressure injuries comprising:receiving pressure sensor data experienced by a subject lying upon apressure sensitive device and at locations on the pressure sensordevice; determining a body position of the subject based on the pressuresensor data a body position algorithm and a number of body positions;associating the pressure sensor data to a number of body areas of thesubject based on the body position, the associated sensor data includessensor data indicative of an absence of pressure sensor data beingexperienced by one or more of the number of body areas; determiningpressure experienced by the number of body areas of the subject over aperiod of time based on the associated sensor data; and formatting thepressure experienced by the number of body areas of the subject over aperiod of time for display to a caregiver.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the sensor data indicative of an absence of pressure sensor datain connection with one or more of the number of body areas is indicativeof the one or more of the number of body areas not being in contact withthe pressure sensor device during a period of time when the pressuresensor data is being collected.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein thesensor data indicative of an absence of pressure sensor data inconnection with one or more of the number of body areas is an indicativevalue.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indicative value is zero.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the indicative value is non-zero.13. The method of claim 8, wherein the steps of the method are carriedout repetitively over time.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the stepsof the method are carried out sequentially.
 15. The patientvisualization system of claim 1, wherein the number of body positionsincludes a back-side resting body position, a right side resting bodyposition, a stomach resting body position, a front-side resting bodyposition, or a left side resting body position.
 16. The patientvisualization system of claim 2, wherein the number of body positionsinclude first, second and third body positions, and first and third oneor more body areas of the one or more of the number of body areas in thefirst and third body positions, respectively, are not in contact withthe pressure sensor device.
 17. The patient visualization system ofclaim 2, wherein the machine instructions executed by the computerimplement the following function: record a value indicative of theabsence of pressure sensor data in connection with the first and thirdone or more of the number of body areas in the first and third bodypositions, respectively, and record a value indicative of the presenceof pressure sensor data while the subject is in the second bodyposition.
 18. The method of claim 8, wherein the number of bodypositions includes a back-side resting body position, a right sideresting body position, a stomach resting body position, a front-sideresting body position, or a left side resting body position.
 19. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the number of body positions include first,second and third body positions, and first and third one or more bodyareas of the one or more of the number of body areas in the first andthird body positions, respectively, are not in contact with the pressuresensor device.
 20. The method of claim 8, further comprising: recordinga value indicative of the absence of pressure sensor data beingexperience by the first and third one or more of the number of bodyareas in the first and third body positions and recording a valueindicative of the presence of pressure sensor data while the subject isin the second body position.